This invention relates to a device for cleaning paint rollers covers. It relates particularly to a device for cleaning paint rollers covers that can be easily used by both the commercial painter and the homeowner.
The well-know paint roller assembly is commonly used by both commercial painters and homeowners for fast and efficient painting of flat wall and ceiling surfaces using a various types of paints and other finishes. The paint roller assembly comprises a handle attached to a rotatable cylinder or wire frame which fits into and frictionally holds a removable roller cover. The paint roller assembly allows for rotation of the roller cover to pickup paint from a tray or container and to toll a thin layer of the paint over flat surfaces, such as a wall or ceiling.
The paint roller cover is comprised of an inner plastic or cardboard cylindrical tube covered with a nap made of fabric, fibers or plastic capable of absorbing and distributing paint. The nap may be a carpet-like fabric, a plastic foam, a tufted fiber or any other type of outer covering that will hold and apply paint or other finishes uniformly to a flat surface.
After use, the paint roller cover is either cleaned for reuse or discarded. Many paint roller covers, especially those with a heavy nap, are expensive and therefore justify cleaning for reuse. Cleaning usually involves either soaking the paint roller cover in a suitable paint solvent or, in the case of a typical homeowner using water soluble latex paints, washing the paint roller cover in an open sink with soap and water. Cleaning a paint roller cover is usually a somewhat messy operation involving the splattering of paint and solvent, and unless carefully done, usually does not remove all the residual paint from the nap of the paint roller cover. As a result, commercial and professional painters avoid the inconvenience and mess required to clean roller covers and discard the roller cover after use.
Several different types of prior paint roller cover cleaning devices are described in the following U.S. Pat. Nos.:
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. D280,144 Cooney 1985 U.S. Pat. No. 4,549,562 Ossi 1985 U.S. Pat. No. 4,709,717 Rannigan 1987 U.S. Pat. No. 4,733,679 Dolcater 1988 U.S. Pat. No. 4,811,749 Dixon 1989 U.S. Pat. No. 5,033,491 Middleton 1991 ______________________________________
The devices shown in these prior patents attempt to reduce the splatter and mess produced when cleaning a paint roller cover by enclosing the paint roller cover in a protective shield or cover. While the splatter and mess will be reduced with some of these prior patented devices, many of these prior cleaning devices will not effectively clean the residual paint from the nap of the paint roller cover, which then hardens and reduces the effectiveness of the nap.
For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,733,679 to Dolcater and 5,033,491 to Middleton disclose devices that enclose the roller cover within a close fitting tubular vessel and flood the paint roller cover with water or solvent from a spray tube or manifold built into the tubular vessel. Such devices are unable to direct the water or solvent selectively to those portions of the roller cover that need the most cleaning. In addition, the close fitting of the tubular vessel of these prior devices about the paint roller cover tends to reintroduce a mixture of paint and water or solvent back onto the nap of the roller cover during the cleaning operation and requires considerable time and quantities of solvent to clean the paint roller cover. As a result, both the commercial and professional painter and the homeowner have found such prior cleaning devices unsatisfactory and usually discard the paint roller after use rather than attempt to clean it for reuse.